SteelSeries Arena 9 review

What happened to 5.1 surround systems? Once all the rage for top-end gaming setups, these days you're much more likely to see a 2.1 system or set of regular old speakers attached to most gaming PCs. You could be forgiven for thinking 5.1 systems are purely for home cinema purposes, and for gaming they've simply become old hat.

SteelSeries, however, begs to differ. The SteelSeries Arena 9 is a fully-fledged 5.1 surround sound speaker system, complete with OLED-equipped hockey puck style control unit and some nifty, gamer-friendly RGB lighting. Yours for $550/£550.

Yep, I wouldn't blame you if you did a double take. I did. Over half a grand for a set of speakers might not be much in audiophile terms, but when it comes to gaming audio? That's pushing it. Especially when our current favorite set of gaming speakers, the Logitech G560, can be found for around $150–$200.

Still, you do get a lot for your money, at least out of the box. There's a substantial-looking central speaker, two sizable front left/front right units with LED light-up base rings and half-circle rear lighting, plus two slightly smaller rear satellite speakers. All of this connects into the back of a chunky subwoofer, with a slit-style front port and a serious-looking 6.5 inch downwards facing driver. Oh, and the hockey puck, along with a lot of cables and adapters to put it all together.

Connectivity:  USB, Bluetooth, Optical, 3.5 mm aux
Speakers:  Center speaker — 2 x 2.75 inch woofers, 1 x 0.75 inch tweeter / Front speakers — 2 x 3 inch woofers, 2 x 0.75 inch tweeter /  Wireless rear speakers — 2 x 2.75 woofers, 2 x 0.75 inch tweeters/ Subwoofer — 6.5 inch down firing driver
Frequency response: 35—20,000Hz
Weight: 15 kg
Price: $550/£550 

One great drawback of every 5.1 system is the sheer fiddly nature of the setup. The two satellites connect wirelessly for audio, but still require a cable linking the two together, along with a separate power adapter. The layout of my particular home rig (what with my